


Iron & Aluminum

by enrai (tookumade)



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: M/M, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28234245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tookumade/pseuds/enrai
Summary: He can hear the smile in Galo’s voice when he replies, “I want to stay with you, too. Forever!”Eternity, infinity, and—“Forever?”“Forever.”“Through thick and thin?”He feels Galo give a little huff of laughter when he replies, “Through fire and ice.”“For better or for worse?”“Obviously!”Something like adrenaline courses through Lio. Words catch in his throat so they come out barely above a whisper and he remembers his ‘I love you’ lost in rushing wind, and he says, “In sickness and in health?”
Relationships: Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 9
Kudos: 86
Collections: Cauterize: A LioGalo Wedding Zine - Contributor Works





	Iron & Aluminum

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the _Cauterize_ Lio/Galo Wedding zine — thanks for having me! ♡

The wedding Lio and Galo attends between two Burnish soon-to-be-newlyweds is the first recorded Burnish wedding in this country since the First Great World Blaze thirty years ago. The couple had fallen in love over the course of the rebuilding period after the departure of the Promare. Though Lio knew them by name, he wasn’t close to them, but they still insisted he attend. They wanted to thank him for all he had done, for him to see how happy they were, how far they had come, how much they had healed. A wedding would be a mark of normality and new beginnings.

The wedding vows, signing, and reception had all taken place in a restaurant in west Promepolis, decorated with what looked like an entire city’s worth of fairy lights. As Lio watches the couple exchange vows before a densely packed crowd of family and friends, looking at each other like they are the only two people in the world, he feels his throat tighten with emotion.

“—to have and to hold from this day forward; for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish; till death do us part—”

He’s tearing up. He wants to grab a napkin to wipe his eyes or drink from his glass to distract himself, but downing his drink right now in the middle of the vows would be a bad look, and so Lio sits still and tries to blink the tears away.

But then, he feels Galo’s warm hand clutch around his own, and Lio looks at him. 

Galo is crying, but smiling widely. He looks back at Lio, pure joy in his eyes, and Lio—

Lio’s lip trembles and more tears well up until they spill down his face. And that’s when he notices that _everyone_ at the reception is crying.

Everything they had lost and left behind, everything they had gained; thirty years of pain, a new lifetime of healing. Perhaps today was truly the end of three decades of heartbreak and the start of the new future. Perhaps today was a day for the history books and people would remember this wedding as something remarkable, miraculous.

Lio squeezes Galo’s hand tightly, turning his attention back to the couple. Everyone watches as they kiss for the first time as newlyweds, and the room bursts into cheers and deafening applause that lasts several minutes. Lio and Galo let go so they can join in. Lio’s hands sting from clapping so hard, and he’s not sure he ever wants to stop.

“That was really nice!” says Galo when they leave the venue hours later, amongst the last of the guests. Lio has no idea what time it is, only that it’s late, but with the lingering happy atmosphere, he doesn’t mind at all. “I haven’t been to a wedding in years. Thanks for bringing me along! Are the keys with you?”

“Nope, they’re with you. Why can’t I drive?”

“Because you drove on the way here!”

“Ehh… fine.”

Grinning, they pull faces at each other as they make their way to their motorbike (it’s Galo’s, but Lio drives it often enough that it’s become ‘their’s’). They climb on and Lio wraps his arms around Galo’s waist as he starts the engine and steers out of the venue grounds, picking up speed as they head down the main street, towards home.

They pass newly constructed buildings, parks with young trees planted in neat rows, new road signs and traffic lights. Stars glitter above them and Lio thinks of all the fairy lights at the wedding. The colourful neon signs of the sleepless city reminds him of Promare fire. He feels his chest tighten.

“I love you,” Lio says, voice so quiet that it’s lost in the wind rushing around them and Galo doesn’t hear him. 

Into the cool night, they ride. 

* * *

“I’m helping Lucia test some equipment today,” says Galo the next morning. He sets two plates of pancakes he’d made onto their small dining table. “What are your plans?”

Lio has one hand clutched around his coffee mug and his head pillowed in his other arm. “Mm… dealin’ with housing issues in E8 and E9… meeting Gueira ’n Meis later… more housing stuff… s’always housing stuff…”

“You’re not sick, are you? You’re so tired.”

“Not sick. Sleepy. We were up late ‘cause of the wedding. I’ll never understand how you’re always so chipper in the mornings.”

“You could’ve slept in more.”

“Too much work to do.” Lio raises his head to sip his coffee. “Anyway, I like breakfasts with you.”

Galo grins and sits at the table next to him, sipping his own coffee contentedly. “I should be done by around six tonight. Wanna go out for dinner? There’s a new Mexican place and according to Remi, their quesadillas are totally worth queueing up for, so you _know_ they’ve gotta be good.”

Lio smiles. “Sure. Let’s meet at the fire station.”

“Sounds good.”

And, falling into a comfortable silence, they eat their breakfast and sip their coffee, Galo demolishing his pancakes with gusto. Lio can’t help but watch him with a deep fondness in his chest until Galo finishes his meal and stands from the table, ready to start whatever good chaos Lucia has in store for him.

( _Till death do us part—_ )

What would it be like, having this every day for the rest of Lio’s life? Curling up beside each other in bed after a tiring day, breakfasts together in the mornings, hours and hours of helping people, making plans with each other in between…

A lot had changed since the Promare left, now a little over a year and a half ago. A city half-destroyed didn’t mean that it stopped moving—according to Galo, it felt like Promepolis was moving more than ever. Days of construction work and rebuilding, endless paperwork, the displaced Burnish slowly moving from temporary shelters to permanent housing, meeting more and more Burnish whom Lio hadn’t yet known. Seeing them smile at him, resting a hand on his arm, telling him of their plans for the future: of travel, reconnecting with people, marriages, new businesses they hoped to open, studies they wanted to take up, things they wanted to try…

At last, dreams they actually had a chance of seeing through. At last, a future.

To the Burnish, _forever_ had only ever been a fantasy. Life was fleeting, filled with fear and uncertainty. Who knew when they’d suddenly be caught by the government and carted off to unknown facilities, never to be seen again?

Eternity, infinity, forever: words that had never really meant anything.

But that was then. Now…

Now, sometimes Lio didn’t know how to start, where to go, what to do. There were so many new possibilities suddenly opened to him that some days, the rare days when it was quiet, it felt like too much. Truthfully, he didn’t expect this—when he had been on the run, he, too, sometimes caught himself dreaming, but his dreams were always of peaceful, quiet futures; of himself surrounded by his fellow Burnish, safe and together, living ordinary lives away from those who sought to do them harm.

Now…

Now, he could travel and go anywhere, study anything, try all sorts of new hobbies. He could—

( _To have and to hold from this day forward—_ )

He could start believing in eternities and infinities and forevers.

And wasn’t that just terrifying? He had literally seen the solar system, co-piloted a planet-sized robot to save the Earth, and stood in the vastness of space and watched the departure of an alien flame species as they jumped dimensions. And yet, none of those ever made him feel small. What made him feel so small, so suddenly paralysed with so many choices, was _this_ : the possibility of the never-ending.

Lio exhales, slow and deep, as he makes his way down the street.

It’s sundown, now. The day had gone by quickly, spent organising the fixing of inadequate water systems and electricity issues in three housing complexes, sorting out a mix-up between five flats in another complex, organising for shuttles to take a group of elderly people to doctor’s appointments, and discussing the future opening of another clinic nearby. By the time it was six o’clock and Lio had bid goodbye to the others and started to walk home, his stomach was rumbling. As he passes one of the supermarkets with its bright lights and colourful signage, his phone rings in his pocket.

“Galo?”

“Hey!” comes Galo’s lively voice. “Where are you?”

“On my way home. What’s…” Lio trails off in realisation. Dinner. They were meant to go out for dinner. He closes his eyes. “Ohhh, _dammit_ , I’m so sorry, Galo. I completely forgot. Wait for me, I’ll head to the station now.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m in C12. I just reached the supermarket.”

“Oh, we can grab kebabs for dinner instead! Remember that joint nearby with the huge servings and amazing garlic sauce?”

“Are you sure?”

“The Mexican place is in the opposite direction! We can eat there another day. Wait for me, okay?”

“But—”

“Too late, I want kebabs! See you soon!”

And he hangs up. Lio stares blankly at his phone before tucking it back into his pocket. There’s a bench up ahead, so he sits to wait. The fire station is less than fifteen minutes walk away; Galo won’t take long to get here.

Not that Lio was in a hurry. Not that he was going elsewhere tonight.

No. He has so much time, now. A lifetime of paths, choices, adventures, and new things, but right now, there was only one place he wanted to be. In the never-ending tomorrows, there was only one person’s side he wanted to stand by, and that would never change.

He has time to spend with someone. He has so much time.

A small smile crosses Lio’s face. Today had been another long day and tomorrow would be the same. He’d probably be too busy to stand around feeling small in the impending forever. But then maybe he’ll be hit with an unexpected quiet lull to think, and he’ll feel overwhelmed with choices again, but maybe that was okay. Because there’s no rush. He has so much time to figure things out, now. And he doesn’t have to figure it out alone, either. The things he did to save the world, the work he’s doing as they rebuild and heal—he has not done these alone.

Jogging footsteps approach. Lio looks up and his smile widens when he sees Galo. 

(And he doesn’t feel so small, anymore.)

Galo slides onto the bench beside him, jostling him playfully, and asks, “Everything okay? You rarely forget things, _especially_ something as important as dinner.”

“Just had a lot to think about.”

“You always have a lot to think about. What makes today so different?”

( _To have and to hold—_ )

Lio leans to rest his head on Galo’s shoulder, Galo slips their hands together, and they fall into a comfortable silence as Lio gathers his thoughts.

“I was thinking… I’d like to travel a bit sometime,” says Lio slowly. “Maybe we could go on a road trip. Somewhere overseas, too.”

“Sure! I haven’t spent much time outside Promepolis, but the others might have ideas.”

“I also want to… take up a hobby or study something. I have no idea what, though. Maybe a language?”

“Lucia taught Varys and Aina how to swear in Portuguese, if you want to start there.”

Lio snorts with laughter. “Maybe.”

Galo kisses the top of his head. “What else?”

“I want… to learn how to make pizza from scratch, because you like it so much. And I want to learn basic handyman stuff, because that’s useful. I want to learn to play the guitar. I want to eat at that Mexican restaurant. I want to visit every store the Burnish open up. I want to have breakfast with you every morning. I want to fall asleep next to you every night.”

And then, with a deep breath, Lio squeezes Galo’s hand and says, softer, “I want to stay with you.”

He can hear the smile in Galo’s voice when he replies, “I want to stay with you, too. Forever!”

Eternity, infinity, and—

“Forever?” 

“Forever.”

“Through thick and thin?”

He feels Galo give a little huff of laughter when he replies, “Through fire and ice.” 

“For better or for worse?”

“Obviously!”

Something like adrenaline courses through Lio. Words catch in his throat so they come out barely above a whisper and he remembers his ‘ _I love you_ ’ lost in rushing wind, and he says, “In sickness and in health?”

Now, there is silence. Lio can feel Galo turn his head to stare at him, but he can’t bring himself to meet his gaze just yet.

Galo looks up at the sky for a while before saying thoughtfully, “How does it go again? To have and to hold, or something? Uh…”

“For richer or for poorer, I think.”

“Yeah! And… oh! To love and cherish—”

Heartbeat speeding up, Lio says, “Till death do us part.”

“Mm…” Galo nods before adding, “Death doesn’t apply to us, though.”

Lio finally sits up to look at him. “How do you figure?”

Galo grins. “You think we can save the world as dramatically as we did and no one will remember our names? Nope, you and I will go down in history. People will talk about the crazy things we did because we wanted to save everyone. That’s how we live forever. No matter what, death can’t part us. So… if you want me to stay with you forever, then I can and I will.”

Lio’s heart is racing so fast that it’s dizzying. He thinks of things lost and left behind and gained; years of pain and heartbreak; healing and a new future. He thinks of the miracle of something as equally simple and complex as love. He thinks of the miracle of meeting someone who could make him believe in an eternity, an infinity, a _forever_.

“Stay with me,” says Galo. 

And Lio takes another deep breath. He raises their joined hands to his lips and presses a kiss to Galo’s ring finger. Galo’s smile widens, pure joy in his eyes. 

“Forever,” says Lio.

Galo pulls Lio’s left hand close and does the same: a kiss to his ring finger. Lio feels a warmth burst in his chest, a joy he would always fight for, a forever he could finally hold onto.

“Forever,” says Galo.

Above them, stars glitter like fairy lights. Around them, the neon signs of the city are as colourful as Promare fire. This time, Lio’s voice is clear and Galo hears him when he says, “ _I love you_.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/naffnuffnice)


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